The mess with Modi government was costly, Nawab family became beggars and Saif Ali Khan became bankrupt! Saif Ali Khan.

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The High-Stakes Battle Over the Nawab Family’s Royal Legacy: How Saif Ali Khan’s Inheritance Became The Centre of an Epic Legal Tug-of-War

Mumbai, June 2024 – In the glamorous world of Bollywood, few families evoke as much royal mystique and old-world charm as the illustrious Pataudi clan. Yet today, the scion of this family—actor Saif Ali Khan—finds himself embroiled in one of the most dramatic property disputes in modern India, one that spans history, politics, and law. With the Modi government taking an uncompromising stance, the Nawab family’s once-vast fortune stands on the precipice. Could this royal family really end up penniless—and could Saif Ali Khan, whose net worth was once calculated in thousands of crores, be facing bankruptcy? At the heart of the matter is a massive estate in Bhopal, now estimated at a staggering ₹15,000 crore—property that the government says belongs to the Indian state under ‘Enemy Property’ law, and not to India’s favourite ‘Nawab’ and his kin.

A Storybook Legacy Under Threat

Born into privilege, Saif Ali Khan has always been associated with both Bollywood glamour and blue-blooded aristocracy. The grandson of the last Nawab of Pataudi and the son of acclaimed cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore, Saif grew up with a heritage steeped in palaces, historic homes, and a bevy of courtiers. Among these was the Bhopal estate—palaces, hotels, and houses built on prime land—today at the very center of a ferocious legal and political storm.

According to real estate analysts, the properties in question—Flag Staff House, the luxury Hotel Noor Us Sabah Palace, Habibganj Bungalow, Ahmed Palace, the grand Dar-us-Salam, Koh-e-Fiza and others—are spread across Bhopal and have a combined market value now pegged at ₹15,000 crore ($1.8 billion). When valued back in 1960, the portfolio’s worth was said to be just ₹100–200 crore, but Bhopal’s property values have soared along with India’s economic growth.

Enemy Property: The Law That Changed Everything

What happened to bring this grand estate under government scrutiny? Enter the Enemy Property Act of 1968, a little-known but powerful law born out of India’s post-Partition political realities. After Independence, India saw mass migrations, and thousands of properties were left behind by those who fled to Pakistan or—later—China. To prevent hostile use of such assets, India passed the Enemy Property Act, which allowed for the government to seize property left behind by individuals who became citizens of an “enemy” country.

Under the Act, both movable and immovable assets qualify as enemy property if the original owners acquired Pakistani or Chinese citizenship following their departure from India. Crucially, a government-appointed ‘Custodian of Enemy Property’ takes charge. Successors or Indian heirs typically have very little recourse.

The Pataudi-Bhopal Connection: A Royal Family’s Fall From Grace

The saga begins with Nawab Hamidullah Khan, the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal—a direct ancestor of Saif Ali Khan. Hamidullah had three daughters, but no sons. His eldest daughter, Abida Sultan, was declared the legal heir. Here’s where it gets complicated: Abida Sultan, after partition, grew increasingly disillusioned with life in India and migrated to Pakistan in 1950, taking along her young son, Shaharyar Khan, who later went on to become one of Pakistan’s most prominent diplomats. In Pakistan, she acquired citizenship and cut legal ties with India.

Meanwhile, Hamidullah’s second daughter, Sajida Sultan, married into the Pataudi family—she was Saif Ali Khan’s grandmother. Sajida remained in India and, for decades, exercised what she believed to be legitimate possession over the Bhopal estate. With her death, the properties were claimed by her son, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and then, by Saif Ali Khan.

But legally, the shadow of Abida Sultan’s migration hung over these titles. Since Abida had moved to and become a citizen of a country classified as “enemy” under Indian law, all property legally registered in her name (including those never physically controlled by her after migration) automatically became vulnerable under the Enemy Property Act. Any “occupancy” by siblings or descendants within India became legally questionable.

Modi Government’s Hardline Stance—and a Family’s Fight

For decades, the question of these properties’ rightful ownership floated unresolved through courts—a legal limbo in which the Pataudis and their descendants continued to reside in and lease out some of these assets, some converted into businesses or hotels, others left as family homes.

Everything changed after 2014. The NDA government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reopened hundreds of Enemy Property cases, determined to enforce a stricter reading of the law. Bhopal’s royal estate was high on the list.

In 2015, a new survey and legal review were ordered on the Bhopal palace complex, with authorities arguing that since Abida Sultan’s name remained on many legal documents, and since she had become a Pakistani national, the properties should revert fully and irrevocably to the Indian government. Complicating matters, the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2017, was passed to shut any possible loopholes—making it crystal clear that “no heir of an enemy, or any other person, shall have any right over enemy property.”

The result: the Pataudi family’s long-cherished expectation of regaining full control crumbled. Years of appeals and litigation reached a head in December 2024, when the Madhya Pradesh High Court lifted a stay order that had—until then—allowed the family to cling to some hope. The court gave the family 30 days to submit a final claim and evidence. Reportedly, neither Saif nor other family members were able to meet the stringent documentation or legal tests required.

The lower court’s earlier ruling favouring the Nawab family was overturned. With that, the entire array of palaces and land—replete with Saif’s childhood memories—was finally, and likely permanently, declared Enemy Property.

More Than Just Land: What ‘Loss’ Means for the Pataudis

Beyond the financial blow, the saga is a personal one. Flag Staff House, for instance, was where Saif Ali Khan spent his formative years. Photographs circulated from family albums show Saif and his late father playing cricket in the palace’s sprawling gardens. The Noor Us Sabah, later converted into a posh hotel, witnessed countless family occasions, royal dinners, and Bollywood gatherings.

Now, however, Saif Ali Khan and his relatives face the almost unthinkable: the legacy they believed was irrevocably theirs had never, in fact, belonged fully to them after 1950. The government’s move has stripped the family of all legal claim, despite the emotional and historical bond.

It is important to clarify: while dramatic rumors have swirled about “Saif Ali Khan going bankrupt” or the “family becoming beggars,” the actor does indeed still own other properties (including Pataudi Palace in Haryana, which does not fall under this complex legal mess), and he continues to command top billing in Bollywood. But the sense of shock and loss is palpable.

Why the Government Wants the Nawab’s Wealth

Why is the Indian state so aggressive in these matters? For policymakers, the fundamental motive is national security. The spectre of enemy assets being used to funnel money, power, or access in the hands of adversary nations is not theoretical.

As government sources have repeatedly explained, “After Partition, and amid ongoing wars and espionage threats, Indian law was designed to make absolutely sure no Pakistani or Chinese national—or their descendants—could claim large Indian assets for themselves. Each time there is an Indo-Pakistan or Indo-China flare-up, these legal protections get re-examined.”

The Bhopal estate is one of over 9400 properties seized nationwide under the Enemy Property Act, several of which are palatial estates, hotels, and businesses.

The Legal: Loophole, Liturgy, and Legend

One technicality haunted the Nawab family: the original Enemy Property Act did not specify whether Indian heirs who never left the country could legally inherit from a relative who had. Some early court cases favoured Indian descendants, but the 2017 amendment saw the government close this “loophole,” decreeing any property whose original owner became an enemy national would remain forever with the state, with no rights of succession or inheritance.

This legislative “trapdoor” has sealed the fate of not just the Pataudi estate, but dozens of other families similarly placed.

What Next for the Nawab Family?

As of this writing, the Bhopal estate is officially classified as Enemy Property. Only a direct intervention from the Supreme Court or a change in legislation could now reverse the family’s loss. Legal experts say that, given the government’s amendment, such a reversal seems nearly impossible.

As one historian of Indian princely states told us, “This is the end of an era—a legal, historical, and emotional full-stop to a royal chapter. While Saif Ali Khan may not be rendered bankrupt in the literal sense, the legacy of generations has slipped from the family’s grasp.”

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